Srixon Z Star Review 2023

Srizon Z Star Golf Ball Review 2023

Srixon Z Star and Z Star XV Golf Balls
Grade: A
Teachers’ Comments: Worth a try, especially for better players.

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Over the past several seasons, I’ve become a fan of Srixon’s golf balls in general, and of the Z Star line specifically.

Srixon’s Z Star premium line of balls offers everything I expect from balls in the category: good distance, penetrating flight, spin around the greens and great feel. For me, Srixon’s offerings are every bit as good as the offerings from that one company which usually leads any PGA TOUR tournament with balls in play.

In case you hadn’t heard, a guy playing Srixon just won the PGA Championship.

A couple of months back, Srixon sent boxes of their Z Star and Z Star XV balls for testing, and during breaks in what turned out to be awful Spring weather in Michigan, I’ve taken them out for review at Washtenaw Golf Club (course link).

I found that both of the 2023 generation Z-Star balls have the softer feel I like, with more distance than I deserve with my swing speed.

At the core (pun intended) of the 2023 Z-Star balls is the Fastlayer DG Core that varies in firmness from soft in the center to firm on the edge. This allows the ball to compress more on driver shots for lower spin and more speed, while maintaining spin and feel on shorter shots.

I recall the early days of the multi-layer ball when marketing materials touted the way in which the layers allowed different performance depending on how the ball was struck. The three-piece looked like a cutaway of the Earth, with a small core, a large mantle and a crust. The three- piece was followed by the four-piece and the five-piece ball. Then there were large cores and small mantles and everything in between.

I was at one point convinced that we were headed for balls with double-digit layers.

For now, the Z Star is a three-piece ball with a urethane cover; the Z Star XV is a four-layer ball with a urethane cover.

Whether three or four layers, however, it seems to me that with the Fastlayer core, Srixon has moved toward a sort of infinite layer core, with the material itself sensing the swing variations and reacting accordingly.

At any rate, the core is designed to work with what Srixon styles as the Spin Skin+ cover to enhance friction and generate more spin on shorter shots, especially wedge shots and pitches.

I’ve found that both models play well around the green. I do not swing fast enough to spin a ball back, but these check-up very nicely for me; I can target a landing spot closer to the hole than I do with my every day, much-more-inexpensive two-piece balls.

The 2023 Srixon Z star golf balls have a 338-dimple pattern that Srixon says creates a penetrating flight and reduces drag for more carry and roll. I have found that the ball has a low, line drive flight for me off the tee, with lots of roll. Ballooning shots just aren’t a thing. That’s a big plus; I otherwise have recurring trouble with ballooning tee shots that rise quickly and then fall out of the sky.

I very much like the way these balls play and recommend that golfers give them a chance, especially golfers with good swing speeds.

The 2023 Srixon Z star golf balls come in both white and yellow options, as well as a two-color Divide version that is said to help with alignment and visibility. The Divide ball has the same performance characteristics as the regular Z star ball, but with a unique half-and-half design that splits the ball into two contrasting colors.

The 2023 Z Star retails for $34.99. The Z Star XV retails for $47.99. The “Divide” two-color versions are also $47.99.

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